What Is Important
by InfiniteWordForge
Summary: Team RWBY delve into a mysterious and dangerous forest, tasked with the simple objective of gathering rare plants. But what began as a routine field exercise turns into a tragedy as the monsters of the forest turn out to be more than the huntresses were ready for.
1. Chapter 1

You have no idea how terrible it felt. How terrible it felt when my hand came up empty. When her fingers slipped from mine. When all I could do was watch as she fell, disappearing right in front of my eyes wearing that stupid grin of hers like she was happy to die so that I may live.

She really was such a dunce.

* * * *

It was just another field trip, an exercise no different from the forest of Ever Fall. All they had to do was hunt down some plants and bring them back to Miss Goodwitch before it was time to pack up and head back.

But this forest was unlike Ever Fall and even the Emerald Forest, it was roughly half the size but the footing was terrible due to the rugged terrain and the incline seemed to change constantly. Yet despite this there was a sense of peace among the dense, verdant trees. It wasn't hard to tell that there was something special about these woods.

Ruby pulled out her tablet as she stood on a rock ensnared by tree roots. "We've come pretty far." She said, looking over the map.

Blake jumped up beside her. "There's a rather large ravine to the north of our position." She pointed out. "Down a hill it looks like?"

Ruby nodded. "We'll have to be careful if we go that way."

"Not that we could see it in this terrain." Weiss commented. "We can barely see a hundred feet, if that, in any direction." She sat down on a curled tree root.

"If we can't find a giant, bottomless ravine then finding these herbs will be a real problem." Yang joked, walking up to the rock Ruby and Blake were perched upon. "Man, I sure could use some monsters to beat up. This whole hunter, gatherer stuff is just not my thing."

"I for one think we should be thankful we haven't run into any." Blake said as she and Ruby jumped down. "The monsters here are supposed to be far stronger than most. And who said anything about the ravine being giant and bottomless?"

"Be careful what you wish for, sis." Ruby warned, a light hearted smirk on her face.

"Yeah," Weiss agreed, "We don't exactly have the best of luck when it comes to this sort of thing." She got up and joined her team. "So, which way?"

"I think we should go higher." Ruby said, holding the tablet up for everyone to see. "I read that these herbs are more likely to grow at higher elevations."

"Look at you, doing your homework." Yang teased.

"Well," Weiss began, "That climb isn't getting any easier. Let's get it over with."

Ruby closed the tablet and returned it to her side. With a hard push she jumped to a large tree root, landing effortlessly. "Alright, team! Let's move ou-"

A loud crack of breaking wood echoed through the trees, stopping Ruby in mid sentence. The three on the ground looked up at her, skeptical and maybe some accusing looks on their faces.

"Uh, Ruby," Yang began, "I say this because I love you and all but you might want to cut back on the cookies."

Another, louder crack could be heard but this time it was further up the incline.

"Okay," Weiss said, "That one was not Ruby."

"I argue that the first one was me at all." Ruby added.

Another crack followed by the sound of a falling tree, the branches rustled as a crash jarred the very ground. Ruby drew Crescent Rose, fully extending the weapon into its scythe form. Yang, Weiss and Blake readied their weapons as well, keeping an eye on their surroundings as more noises enveloped them.

Then everything went quiet. Several moments passed in silence, everyone stood stalk still, holding their breath. But nothing happened.

"I think we're wound a little too tight today." Yang said, breaking the silence.

"Think it was nothing?" Weiss asked.

Blake shook her head, her hand not leaving her weapon. "Nothing doesn't make that much noise."

"Blake's right." Ruby said, turning to her team mates. "We'll have to keep our guard up."

The trees behind her suddenly exploded, splintering straight through the center and filling the air with broken branches and leaves. A massive skull-white head emerged flanked by a pair of large, black arms tipped with long claws. Ruby was taken from her feet just by the sheer force of their attacker and managed to turn in mid air, raising her weapon in her defense.

One of the arms came around and struck her, Ruby's defense did little to lessen the impact and was sent flying. A giant Ursa came to a grinding halt from down the incline, toppling several other trees like they were nothing.

Yang, Blake and Weiss landed from their split second evasion just in time to see Ruby vanish. Disappearing through the trees down the incline.

"Weiss!" Yang called out over the commotion, grabbing her team mate's attention. "Go after Ruby! Blake and I will take care of this!"

Weiss looked to Blake who nodded in response. Without wasting a second thought Weiss conjured a glyph beneath her feet and leapt after her leader. She kicked off several trees and used another glyph mid air to gain speed, glimpsing a red cloak barreling downward.

Ruby exited the trees and hit an open patch of land with a hard and jarring impact. Searing pain shot through her leg but she managed to bear it and roll to her knees, keeping a hold of her weapon.

She now sat in a large and open cliff face, her back to the ravine she and Blake were just talking about. She looked over her shoulder to see the drop mere feet away, it was exactly the kind of drop her sister had assumed it was and Ruby could only chuckle at the bad luck.

Weiss burst through the trees, landing just beyond their reach and running to leader's side. "Ruby!" She exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Weiss. I'm fine." She replied, more to assure herself than anything.

Ruby tried to push herself back to her feet but as she put weight on her leg pain sent her reeling. She lost her balance and if not for Weiss being there to catch her she would have returned to the ground.

"No, you're not fine." Weiss said. "It doesn't look like you'll be able to walk either."

Weiss sheathed her weapon and draped Ruby's left arm across her shoulders, taking most of her partner's weight upon herself.

"We need to get you back to Professor Goodwitch." She said.

"Sorry, Weiss."

"You can be sorry later." Weiss scolded. "For now-"

A thundering roar echoed over the ravine. The trees further down the clearing were ripped from their place and toppled as a giant Ursa crashed through and landed several hundred feet away.

"Where's Yang and Blake?" Weiss asked aloud. "I thought they had this thing."

Gunfire further up the incline followed by more thunderous roars confirmed Ruby's fear.

"It's not the same one." She said.

"You mean there's more of these things?" Weiss cursed. "You've got to be kidding me!"

The Ursa shook fallen trees and foliage from its spines before noticing the pair. With an angry roar it charged, the ground shaking beneath every foot fall.

Weiss conjured a glyph beneath them and carried Ruby away from the ledge. She let Ruby lean on a nearby tree and drew her sword.

"Stay here." She commanded. "I'll handle this guy."

Summoning another glyph, Weiss took off with her weapon extended. She met the Ursa head, the beast reared up to swipe at her but Weiss kept low and beneath its reach. The blade of her sword glowed green as she struck at the monster's hind legs, thinking she could take it from its feet. But the beast's tree trunk sized limbs were too thick and it seemed to barely notice the blows.

Weiss landed behind the Ursa and rather than stopping to face her, the lumbering creature barreled forward. Weiss saw it's new target, Ruby who held onto the tree and raising her weapon in rifle form.

Weiss cursed herself for not thinking ahead and gave chase. She heard Ruby fire off three shots but the Ursa seemed unfazed. She tried striking at it's legs again but to little effect.

Ruby could barely put any weight on her leg now much less run away as the Ursa bore down upon her. She aimed Crescent Rose at the ground and used the recoil to launch herself backward and further away from the beast. But she gave little thought on landing, she never had to before and when she touched down again the pain from her leg took her from her feet.

She hit the ground, falling to her knees and could do little as the Ursa raised one of its arms and swung. The beast's claws dug into the ground, tossing rock and huntress alike towards the ravine, Ruby lost her grip on her weapon as she hit the ground again and rolled.

Pain in her leg and now her arm blinded her but when she suddenly felt weightless she knew she was over the ledge. She desperately reached out with her good arm and managed to catch the ledge, keeping herself from falling but slamming into the rock wall below and sending fresh waves of pain coursing through her.

Weiss saw as her partner disappeared over the ledge, she felt her heart stop and fear seemed to stop her lungs. She quickly drove her sword into the ground, drawing on the power of ice and sending stalagmites of the freezing crystals towards the Ursa, encasing its legs and stopping it. For now.

"Ruby!" She screamed, falling into a dead sprint for the ledge, hoping against all hope.

Ruby heard Weiss's voice but felt her grip slipping. She tried to raise her other arm but as she bent it pain seared through her. Then her fingers left the ledge. She felt herself go weightless for a brief moment before she felt a hand grab hers.

She looked up to see Weiss, kneeling beside the ledge with her sword driven into the ground beside her, acting like an anchor.

"I got you!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Weiss!" Ruby called. "What about the Ursa?"

"I took care of it!" She replied as the beast roared in frustration behind her. "Just grab my arm! I'll pull you up!"

"I can't!" Ruby replied. "I can't move my arm!"

The Ursa broke one of it's arms free and slammed it into the ground. The sudden shock from the swing made Weiss lose her grip on her sword, causing her to fall onto her front but still managing to keep a firm hold on Ruby's hand.

A number of thoughts rushed through Weiss's head. She couldn't pull Ruby up on her own and it was only a matter of time before that Ursa broke free.

"Yang!" She yelled. "Blake! Help! Ruby's in trouble!" Desperation began to set in as she looked back to the tree line in panic. "Help! Please!"

The cracking of ice could be heard over the Ursa's frantic attempts of escape and it swiped at the prison on its other arm. Weiss knew the others wouldn't be able to hear them, if they were still fighting the other Ursa then there was absolutely no chance.

"Weiss."

Weiss looked back down to Ruby, her leader's face was calm and her silver eyes locked onto hers. "You can't pull me up, Weiss."

"What're you talking about?" Weiss yelled. "Of course I can! I just-"

"Weiss," Ruby interrupted, "Let me go."

Weiss's eyes narrowed. "You- you can't be serious! There's no way I could do that! I swear, I'm going to smack you so hard for saying that! I-I-"

"It's okay, Weiss." Ruby smiled up at her.

"No! It's most definitely not okay!"

The sound of shattering ice told Weiss the Ursa was now another step away from freedom. Another step away from killing them both of them. But she couldn't bring herself to look away from Ruby.

"I'm sorry, Weiss."

Weiss felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. "No! Don't you dare, Ruby! Don't you even think about it, you little brat!"

Ruby smiled warmly at her. "Goodbye, Weiss."

Weiss felt Ruby's fingers loosen around her hand. "Ruby." She choked. "Please. Don't do this to me."

She felt Ruby's hand slip through hers, she watched in disbelief as her leader, partner and friend fell. She could say nothing as she watched Ruby shrink and disappear in the mists below.

Weiss said nothing. She felt nothing as she rose to her feet. She could only stare at the ledge, wishing she would awaken from this nightmare. Awaken and find herself back in her dorm room, back in that bed that rested beneath Ruby's hap hazardously suspended one.

If only wishes came true.

She heard the Ursa break free at last, she felt its foot falls as it descended upon her. In that moment Weiss felt anger well up inside her.

She reached back and grabbed hold of her sword, wrenching it free from the stone beneath her. Passing a hand over it the blade began to glow red, she turned to find the Ursa mere feet from her, rearing up and ready to strike. But Weiss was faster.

She struck out with a single thrust, catching the monster's swing in mid air. With a sickening sound the Ursa's arm was sent air born, free from the beast's shoulder. With another swing Weiss called up a spear of ice that took the beast off it's feet and into the air. She set foot to the large column and dashed up it, her sword drawn back and glowing a bright silver.

With tears streaking her cheeks and a cry of rage and sorrow on her lips Weiss struck like an arrow, boring through the Ursa's thick neck and removing it's head altogether. She landed several feet behind the suspended corpse, it's head landing not too far from her.

As the adrenaline and rage subsided Weiss felt her legs go numb and her chest felt like it had been caved in. She fell to her knees, dropping her sword at her side and staring down at the ground. She brought her hand up, the hand that had once held onto Ruby's.

She ground her teeth as new tears poured down her cheeks. She ground the ball of her hand into her forehead as strained sobs left her lips.

"Weiss!"

Weiss looked up. Blake and Yang slid down the incline completely unaware of what had transpired. Weiss dropped her gaze, unable to look them in the eye.

Yang touched down first and looked up at the suspended and headless Ursa. "Whoa." She gaped. "And people call me brutal."

Blake went to Weiss's side and knelt beside her. "Are you hurt?" She asked and Weiss could only shake her head. That's when Blake noticed something was wrong.

"So," Yang began, walking over to them, "Where's Ruby?"

Weiss jerked as if the question caused her physical pain. It was then that Yang felt something at the back of her mind, something that made her heart race. Weiss wouldn't be acting like this unless something happened, she realized. Something bad.

"Don't tell me she ran off again." Yang pressed, trying to get an answer but none came. "Weiss," She said with more force, "Where's Ruby?" Again, no answer. Yang felt her temper flare as that unsettling feeling grew. "Weiss!" She grabbed Weiss by the front of her blouse and pulled her to her feet.

"Yang! Stop!" Blake pleaded, standing as well.

Yang ignored her and held Weiss aloft, but still she didn't look Yang in the eye. "Where's my little sister?"

Weiss looked over at the ravine, her eyes filled with sorrow. Yang followed her gaze and all the hostility seemed to fade away.

She loosened her grip on Weiss as her eyes narrowed and her jaw slacked. "No." She breathed.

She released Weiss, allowing her to fall back to her knees and ran to the ledge. She stopped and peered down into the abyss, expecting to see her baby sister. Hoping to see that red cloak of hers and that embarrassed grin she had whenever she made a mistake. But she saw nothing.

"I couldn't pull her up." Weiss said, her voice strained. "I had a hold of her but I just- I couldn't-"

Blake knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Yang stood by the ledge, her disbelief turning to anger and her hands balling into fists.

"Damn it." She choked, unable to keep her own tears in check. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT!" With a feral shout Yang was enveloped in a geyser of flames.

Ruby was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

You don't know how terrible it felt. How terrible it felt knowing I couldn't do a thing. I could only watch as she tried to pull me up but I knew she couldn't. I had to do something or we would both die. I had to make a choice. So I did. I let go. I knew she would be fine now. I was happy to give my life for my team mate. But as I fell, as the mist swallowed me and I could no longer see her, I felt scared.

"I don't want to die".

* * * *

Ruby opened her eyes, they were sore and her vision was hazy. She closed them and then opened them again as she tried to focus. Her head was hurting and her body felt stiff yet warm, that was when she realized she was staring up at an old thatched roof. She lifted her arms, sliding the heavy blanket that was was draped over her further down her torso, and brought her hands into view as if looking for answers.

"So you awaken."

Ruby turned her head on the pillow, she found herself laying in a single room cottage of some manner. She saw a table at the center and a fireplace that roared with an open fire beyond it, there was an old wooden door on the opposite side of the room and some crude glass windows dotted the few open walls. But she didn't see who had spoken to her.

"Rouse yourself, child."

She rolled her head backward, looking towards the head of the bed she lay in to find a man seated next to her. He had long greying hair and beard, he was dressed in brown robes and held a wooden bowl of water in his lap. Ruby took note of the curling goat horns that sprouted from the sides of his head.

"A faunus?" She squeaked rather than spoke, her throat parched and her voice strained.

"My name is Pan." The man said, rising from his seat.

He set the bowl in his vacant chair and, sliding a gentle hand beneath Ruby, raised her to a sitting position. Ruby's body felt heavy and her joints ached and it felt like it took more effort to move.

Pan offered her the bowl of water. "Drink." He said. "You must be thirsty."

Ruby murmured her appreciation and watched her host go to the fireplace and remove the kettle that hung over the flames. She couldn't see what he was doing but she could hear the clatter of cups as well as something else, a deep yet hollow sound as he moved. It sounded like nutshells rattling against one another. She remembered her thirst and lifted the bowl to her lips, quickly draining it in only a few large gulps.

With a sigh of satisfaction she lowered the bowl and began looking around her. "Just where exactly," She began, finding her voice again, "Am I?"

"My home in the heart of the forest." Pan answered without turning.

"How did I get here?"

Pan looked over his shoulder at her. "Do you not remember?" He asked.

Ruby put a hand to her forehead, she tried to think but her thoughts were a mess. She ground her teeth in frustration, she knew something had happened yet she couldn't recall.

"I don't remember." She groaned.

"Give it time." Pan urged her, returning to her side with a small, steaming cup. "Your memories will return. Do not force them."

Pan offered her the cup and Ruby accepted it with both hands. The earthenware was warm to the touch and the aroma was very soothing. She went to lift the cup to her lips but Pan stopped her, laying a hand over hers.

"Breathe deep." He instructed, waving some of the steam up to his nostrils with his free hand. "Do not drink."

He removed his hand from her and Ruby brought the cup to her face and inhaled. A sweet yet wholesome aroma filled her nostrils and seemed to warm her from the inside, she felt the pain in her body fade and the stiffness she felt ebbed along with the heaviness.

"The forest gives much to those who give back." Pan said, returning to his kettle. "It may mend your body but your mind is your own to tend to." He retrieved the chair from beside the bed and moved back to the table, taking a seat he faced her.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Pan's eyes bore into her. "You gave up."

Ruby's eyes narrowed as she slowly lowered the cup. Like the warmth in her body the memories of her fall began to fill her head. She remembered the fight, she remembered Weiss desperately trying to pull her up. She remembered how she let go of that hand that tried to save her.

"Th-then that means," She swallowed hard, "I'm dead, isn't it?" Pan didn't answer and Ruby let out a weak laugh. "I am, aren't I? Not that there was anyway I could have survived that." She looked at the cup in her hands.

"What of your comrade?" Pan asked.

Ruby smiled to herself. "She's fine. I know she is. She might be mad though."

"Because you abandoned her."

Ruby quickly looked up as Pan left his seat.

"I didn't-" She stammered, "I didn't abandon her."

Pan made his way towards the door. "I fear that's not how she sees it."

He opened the wooden entryway, flooding the room with sunlight, and disappeared beyond the portal. Ruby threw off the blanket and slid out of the bed, a twinge of pain coursed through her as she put weight on her leg but it wasn't unbearable. She limped towards the door but stopped as she noticed she was without her cloak and hood but she didn't take the time to think it about and quickly exited the home.

She was temporarily blinded as her feet left the hard wood floor and stepped onto soft grass. As her eyes adjusted she found herself standing in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees and a clear pond at its center. She felt something about this place, birds could be heard singing and she felt more alive somehow.

Pan stood by the edge of the pond, his back to her, gazing into its crystal waters. Ruby went to his side, despite the clear waters she couldn't see the bottom. Pan held up his left hand, the hollow sound Ruby had heard before resounding through the air. A small stone sat in his palm and, turning his hand over, dropped it into the pond. The sound of the stone hitting the water seemed to echo like a bell as it cast ripples that grew and distorted the mirror-like surface.

Ruby watched in dismay as an image began to take form on the water's surface. She saw Blake, Yang and Weiss along with everyone from their class gathered around an open grave and a rose covered casket. The mood was somber, no one talked and some did their best to suppress their tears.

"What is this?" She asked.

Pan produced another small stone from his sleeve. "What could be." He answered.

He turned his hand over and dropped the stone into the pond, blurring the image until it became something different. The calming surface became an image of Blake.

"This one blames herself for not being more attentive." Pan said. "If only she had sensed the Ursa sooner."

'Ruby was the first person to reach out to me at Beacon.' Ruby jerked as Blake's voice filled her head. 'Her dreams, her ambitions were inspiring. She made me hope for a better world. But now she's gone and I don't know if I can be as hopeful as her.'

Pan dropped another stone into the pond and the image of Yang appeared. "This one blames herself for not being there when you needed her most."

This time it was Yang's voice Ruby heard. 'I should have been her partner! If only I hadn't pressured her to team up with someone else, if only I had looked after her she would still be alive!'

Another stone and another image; Weiss. "This one," Pan said, "Suffers the most."

'Another funeral. Another friend, gone. Ruby, how could you do this to me? I told you that I would be the best team mate ever. But how can I do that when I can't even save my leader? Enough is enough. I'm done."

Ruby felt tears streaming down her face. She fell to her hands and knees, sending ripples through the water.

"I didn't want this." Ruby sobbed. "I wanted her to live but why this?"

"Self sacrifice is nothing noble." Pan said. "The act will cause only more pain for the survivors."

Ruby stared at her hands in the grass. "I failed." She said. "I failed as a leader."

'Nope.'

She looked up quickly at the sound of her own voice. Her image lay on the surface of the pond along with Jaune seated outside his room.

'You're a leader now, Jaune. You don't get to be a failure.'

Ruby's eyes widened as she remembered that conversation and everything she told Jaune. She watched as the image faded and returned to the mirror-like state it once was, displaying her reflection and Pan's.

"You said something as you fell." Pan told her. "Your desire to live was strong at that moment. Tell me, do you still wish to live?"

Ruby stared at the pond for several moments, her hands balling into fists. She pushed herself upright, swaying on her good leg as she faced Pan.

"I still have so much I want to do." She said. "I only just started my journey to become a huntress, I can't quit now. I have a team that needs me. But more than that, I want to hang out with my friends. I want to goof off with my sister! I want to read with Blake! I even want to get scolded by Weiss when I don't study!" She took a deep breath. "I want to live!"

"Then live." Pan extended the hand opposite her, in his grasp lay her red cloak and hood. "Never lose sight of what is important."

Ruby rubbed at her eyes, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand before accepting her cloak. "I won't."

Pan placed a hand on her shoulder and with a hard shove he pushed her out and over the pond. Ruby crashed into the waters and sank quickly, before she could even try to resurface a strange current grabbed her. The water's flow pulled her deeper and tossed her about as it carried her off.

In the dark waters a light suddenly appeared, sunlight from the surface. Released from the current Ruby kicked as hard as she was able, clawing at the waters, desperate for air. She broke through the water's surface, gasping and coughing. Her feet found solid ground and she managed to pull herself out of the water, all but crawling as she came ashore.

She was too disoriented to look up as she went and her head hit something hard and metallic. She looked up to find Crescent Rose looming above her, it's blade buried half way in the soft shore. Ruby could only smile at her fortune. She reached up grabbed hold of her weapon's shaft, pulling herself to her feet. She then noticed that she still had her cloak in hand.

Ruby looked around her, she stood at the edge of a stream surrounded by trees. She was still int he forest but no longer in that grove she had just been standing in. She looked down at her cloak in hand and threw it around shoulders, the wet fabric was heavy yet it was somehow comforting to be wearing it again.

She pulled her weapon free and, using it as a crutch, began limping into the woods. "I need to find the others."

* * *

Yang stood on a raised tree root, looking, searching for any sign of her sister while Blake and Weiss sat on another root nearby. They had managed to descend to lower ground but they were now nowhere near the ravine, yet Yang pressed them to keep searching.

Yang slammed her fist against the nearby tree, cracking and splintering its bark. "How could you just let her go?!" She yelled, turning to face Weiss and Blake. "You could have done something! Anything! How about one of those glyphs you're so proud of?"

"Yang," Blake grabbed her partner's attention and her gaze. "Enough. Weiss did all she could."

"No." Weiss said, bringing attention to her. "Yang's right. I could have done something more, I could have saved her." She clenched her fists, her knuckles whining under the strain. "I could have..." She trailed off.

Yang felt her anger ebb as she watched her team mate. She turned away, "I'm sorry."

Blake left Weiss and went to Yang's side. "What should we do now?" She asked. "If we get Professor Goodwitch and the others we can form a better search party."

Weiss stared down at her hands as the other two talked, devising their next move. Something caught her eye, though, right at the corner of her vision. Weiss turned her head to see a rose laying on the ground not far from where she sat. She slowly got to her feet and went to pick it up but as she neared the flower she noticed another laying only a little further away and rose petals trailed off into the trees.

That's when she heard it. A deep sound like hollow wood clattering together. She looked for the source but found nothing, when she returned her gaze to the flower she heard the sound again but this time off in the direction the roses led.

She stepped over the flower and walked towards the sound only to hear it again. She couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency about it now.

"Guys!" She called out, without turning. "This way! Follow me!"

With that Weiss took off through the trees, Blake and Yang quickly gave chase trying to follow as best they could. The trio propelled themselves down slopes and ever deeper into the forest led only by the occasional rose petal and Weiss's hearing.

She touched down on even ground and looked about her as Yang and Blake landed behind her. Weiss strained her ears, listening for anything. Then a different sound came to her. The sound of metal against soil. Weiss took off at a sprint with Yang and Blake close behind. They tore through the trees and brush and came to a grinding halt.

It felt sort of nostalgic, Weiss thought. When she and Ruby were paired up during their initiation it was Ruby who came barreling through the forest and found Weiss, now the roles were switched.

Ruby stood mere feet away from Weiss as she came to a stop, her eyes locked onto hers.

"Ruby!" Yang ran passed Weiss and grabbed her little sister in a hug. "You're alive!" She exclaimed. "You're really alive!"

"Not for much longer if you keep squeezing me like this, sis." Ruby protested.

Yang quickly released her, looking Ruby over head to toe as if making sure it was really her. Blake came up to them, brushing away a tear in her eyes and hugging Ruby gently.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Blake said, stepping away. "We feared the worst when Weiss told us what happened."

Blake stepped aside revealing Weiss still rooted to where she stopped. Ruby took a breath and hobbled over to her, Yang went to follow but Blake stopped her, silently telling her to wait.

Ruby stopped in front of her partner. "Weiss," She said, "I'm sorry, I-"

A hand struck Ruby across the cheek, silencing her. Ruby recoiled yet managed to keep her balance as she raised a hand to her face and looking back at her team mate. Weiss stood there, a look of anger on her face and tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Do you have any idea-" Weiss choked, almost unable to speak straight. "Just what kind of hell you have put me through?"

Ruby looked down at her feet. "I know." She said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Before she could continue she felt Weiss put her arms around her and held her in a tight embrace.

"Swear to me you'll never do something like that again." Weiss said. "We're a team here, how can we operate without our leader?"

Ruby smiled as she returned the embrace. "I promise."

Yang and Blake joined them as they separated, Blake took Ruby's scythe as Yang and Weiss draped her arms across their shoulders. They had a long walk back and a lot of explaining to do when they faced Miss Goodwitch again.

As the pair helped her along Ruby felt a gentle breeze flow through the trees and a strange sound was carried to her ears.

"Say," She began, "Does someone live in this forest?"

Yang and Weiss exchanged glances. "That was random." Yang said.

"No one has ever lived here." Weiss explained.

Ruby looked up at the trees. "I see."

"There is an old tale about this forest, though." Blake added. "Some of the local folklore state that there's a spirit living here somewhere in the heart of the woods. Some say he watches over travelers."

"But that's just a story." Weiss said.

"All stories have some truth to them." Blake replied.

Ruby just smiled as she stared up at the green canopy above. "We may never know, huh?"


End file.
